In old Poland, the Christmas holidays were known as the days of love, harmony, forgiveness, and peace. They came after a long period of fasting and served to release the stored-up affection and tenderness the Poles held in their hearts for the Christ Child. This feeling was expressed by a spirit of good cheer, and a kind word. Mostly, however, it was expressed by song, the Koledy or Christmas carols. The Polish words "Wesolych Swiat, meaning merry holidays, imply that there is more than one day of joy and festivity. Beginning with Christmas Eve, the holidays usually end on January sixth, the Feast of the Epiphany, or the day of the Three Wise Men, and in rural districts of Poland, they last even longer, until Candlemas Day, which falls on February second. The Polish carol has an essentially folk song character, which makes it specifically national. The melodies are characteristically Polish - gay, sad, tender, even humorous - typical of the Polish peasant or mountaineer. There is a native unconscious poetry about all of them. The Infant Jesus, poor and homeless, born in a stable surrounded by the familiar domestic animals, appeals to the heart and imagination of all peoples. Polish Christmas carols may be divided into three kinds: religious, legendary, and imaginative. The religious, among the most beautiful and profound in feeling of all Polish hymns, owe their origin to monks in cloisters. The legendary, based on the books of the Apocrypha, contain many legends and details which strict historical truth cannot be assumed. Hence the Church did not accept them, but they appealed to the people who loved to sing of the many wonders, the adoring shepherds and the speaking animals. The third, or imaginative, owe their origin to people of humble birth, who in relating the story of the Nativity used familiar surroundings taken from their own homes. Thus Bethlehem became a Polish village and Jesus was born in Poland. These carols often contain merry dance rhythms like the Krakowiak and the Mazurka and are called "Shepherd's Carols".